Halfa in Training
by Monica Moss
Summary: Pariah Dark has taken over Amity Park. Now, it is up to a teenage halfa, who does not know how to control his powers to regain freedom for the city. Takes places during Reignstorm. AU. No pairings.
1. Prologue

**We're rearranging computers at the moment, so until I get one where I can find recent chapters for **_**Maddie's Ghost**_** and **_**War and Fentons**_**, I'm writing a new story for you to enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own DP.

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Prologue

In shock, the United States tried to explain the disappearance of an entire city. Amity Park didn't sink into the sea, like Atlantis; Amity Park didn't get buried by a volcanic explosion, like Pompeii. The disappearance was entirely unnatural. A green barrier had appeared around the town, then a few hours later, there was nothing: no people, no ruins, no clues.

Of course, _the residents_ knew what had happened. A few months earlier, the Fentons had created a ghost portal, a device meant to connect two realms of existence. It hadn't worked, at first. It hadn't worked until the Fenton's son, Danny, had turned it on, getting caught in a blizzard of electricity and ectoplasm.

Ghosts came through the portal to Earth, immediately starting to harass the citizens of Amity Park. It was small things at first, like stealing boxes and bubble wrap, or covering people in frozen meat.

Things turned worse when the ghost king awoke. He overran the town with his skeleton army, forcing the citizens to surrender. Afterward, he had surrounded the town with a strange green force field, removing it only after sucking the city into the ghost zone.

Not exactly the way _Reignstorm_ is remembered, is it? Keep in mind that this is an alternate universe. Danny Fenton survived the accident, and got his powers as well, but he never learned to control them. Without any control, he showed his powers in public, revealing that he had been transformed into a ghost-human hybrid to everyone: the cheerleaders, the jocks, the mayor, his schoolteachers, and his family.

Not being the type to condemn their son and brother, the Fentons tried to help Danny. This is where the story takes place.

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**Okay, okay! I **_**know**_** it's short, and somewhat depressing, but it's just the prologue. It's here to introduce the universe. Now that it's out of the way, we can move on in the next chapter.**


	2. How to Learn Ghost Powers

**Okay, I'm back from camp, but I have a family reunion coming up. My goal before I leave for that is to update _all_ my stories that are still in-progress.**

**Thanks for reviewing go to: TPcrazy and Luiz4200!**

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Danny Phantom.

**How to Learn Ghost Powers**

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Considering the current monarch, it was an uncommonly tame punishment for ghost hunting. The Fentons' ghost weapons had been taken to provide the skeleton army with weapons against anyone foolhardy enough to defy the king. Instead of being killed or exiled, the Fentons, under the watchful eye of guards, had been forced to make additional arms for the king.

Poor, pathetic, Danny Fenton was not a threat to the king; that was common knowledge. Miserable under Pariah's rule, especially with the banning of childish fun, he was often found sulking in his parent's basement. Occasionally, he fell through his chair. He'd try to get up, only to bonk his head on one of the legs.

Bitter after months of boredom, he complained one day after his parents' work hours. "I'm sick of this." he said. "I don't think I can take much more of Pariah Dark."

"Neither can we, but unless there's someone powerful enough to get past the skeleton army _and_ defeat the king, I'm afraid we're stuck under his rule, son." said Jack.

"He's paranoid that someone will try," Maddie added. "That's why he's not allowing anyone outside his military to have weapons. He's building his defenses."

"I know, I'm just about the only one he thinks will _never_ be able to defeat him," Danny mourned. "If only I was powerful enough to defend Amity against him; he'd never have captured us then. I'm nothing. I can't overthrow him, I can't defend myself from anyone, and I can't do anything to make life better. I'm worthless."

"Danny, you're not worthless," his mother said, hurting because of her son's opinion of himself.

"Then how come everyone thinks I'm a joke!" Danny snapped, releasing in his anger an ectoblast. It flew forward, hitting his mom. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"

Gasping, Maddie answered, "Yeah, but that was pretty strong. You're more powerful than you think, Danny. You just need to be able to control your powers better to be able to defend yourself."

Danny hung his head, "I guess, but how am I supposed to learn? The enemy are the only one with any experience of ghost powers. They wouldn't train me. If they even knew we were having this conversation, they'd do something to make sure I don't get training. Let's face it, I can't get training, and without training, I'll just be the kid with the weird ghost powers who messes things up by mistake. It's impossible for me to learn to control my powers!"

"Danny," Maddie said. "What if you figured your ghost powers out for yourself instead of getting formal training? I mean, Thomas Edison wasn't trained on how to make an electric light. In fact, people said it was impossible, and look what he did. He tried every way he could think of to make an electric light, and in the end, he did what no one had ever done before. I bet if you try, you'll discover powers that Pariah Dark can't even imagine. Come on Danny, scientists used to think that man would never be able to walk on the moon, and man did anyway! Would you at least try to master your powers?"

"Okay, I'll try."

"That's my boy!" Jack said proudly. "I tell you Maddie, he'll make a great superhero someday!"


	3. What to Learn?

**Thanks go to Luiz4200 for reviewing! (To answer your question, yes he's still a halfa, he just doesn't appear in the story.)  
**

Disclaimer: I don't own DP.

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What to Learn?

Danny took weeks to decide, in which his powers caused many painful moments for him. Falling downstairs through his bedroom floor, destroying his model space ship, and spilling a whole pitcher of grape juice on in the kitchen were enough to slap him in the face for not controlling his powers. Wishing to prevent similar moments, he told his parents, who were already geared up to help.

"Are you ready, Danny?" Jack asked.

Looking around nervously, the teen replied, "Are you sure we won't get caught?"

"Yes Danny, it's after labor hours, none of the skeleton guards are around, and Dark still hasn't installed any cameras or microphones." Maddie said.

"Okay," Danny agreed.

Maddie pulled out a paper and a pencil. "The first thing we have to do is figure out which powers you could work with. We can start with the powers that we've noticed are giving you problems."

"Great, just the way I needed to start this, paperwork," Danny commented, rolling his eyes.

"Danny, it's so we won't forget anything," said Jack.

"Like I can forget. But I guess you're going to make me do it anyway." Danny grabbed the paper and wrote:

going through stuff

invisibility

green energy blasts

Danny looked up. "Do you think glowing eyes, and blue breath occasionally accompanied by a cold shiver count?" he asked.

"I'd put them down just to be safe," Maddie told him.

glowing eyes

blue breath

shivers

"That's all I know I have," Danny admitted. "I guess we're done with this step."

"Yes, but if you have powers that aren't acting up, you wouldn't exactly know about them, would you?" his dad asked.

"Dad! I have six powers on the list, and I don't have any ideas on learning any of them. Do you really think I need more? Besides, I don't know what else to put down."

"They're not for now, Danny" Maddie explained. "They're for future reference, to give you an idea of what you could possibly be able to do in time. Just write down what you've seen other ghosts doing, just with their own powers, of course."

"Fine, but I still don't see the point," Danny mumbled, adding to the list flying, super-strength, possession, controlling objects, and turning into a monstrous form.

"Okay, Danny, do you see any powers you want to work on first?" Maddie asked.

Danny answered, "Yeah, but I'm not sure which I want: going through stuff, or green energy blasts. Going through stuff is painful and annoying, but the energy blasts keep hurting other people and destroying stuff."

"Well, which can you live with for a while longer?" Maddie prompted.

"I guess I can go through stuff unexpectedly for a while. I'd like to work on the energy blasts, but I don't know how to use them on purpose."

"We've noticed you _don't_ know how to use them, maybe we should find what we _do_ know about them before we start."

Snorting, Danny responded, "That's easy, they glow, hurt people, and destroy things."

"I thought we knew more about them than _that_, Danny," said Jack.

"I don't think I know any more than that, Dad."

"I'll tell you then!" Jack declared. "They're hot when they hit people, it's made of ectoplasm, (trust me, Danny, I've studied the residue,) and it's the same color of your eyes are when you're mad."

"Okay, I think we've done enough for today," said Maddie. "Bed. With any luck, Danny might be able to figure out the power he's working on before next week."


	4. NonSchool Education

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, I only apply my imagination to it.

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Non-School Education

The teen raised his fist to the level of his eyes, focusing on the image in front of him. Painted on a piece of junk metal, a bull's-eye was begging to be hit on target.

He took a deep breath, then lined his shot to the target. He released his ectoblast, and hit the center ring.

"Yeah, Danny!" Jack hollered, "I knew you could do it! Way to hit the center!"

Startled, Danny jumped. "Huh? What, what are you doing, Dad? I didn't hit the center, I hit a ring."

"Oh," said Jack, "Well, you could've gone along with it."

"Well done, Danny," Maddie said. "You got control over your first power!"

"Yeah," Danny said, "I guess I did."

"See, Danny boy? I told you you could do it!" Jack said, giving Danny a pat on the back that nearly knocked him over. "Come here, my little Superman!"

Rubbing his shoulder, Danny softly corrected his Dad, "I'm _not_ Superman."

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Even in the new monarchy, Casper High School, now called The King's High School was still in session. The human teachers had been sacked, and replaced with low-ranking soldiers from the Ghost King's skeletal army. The school was not for teaching though, it was for initiating pro-monarchy propaganda to Amity Park's teenage population.

The final bell rang, and Danny's teacher hollered at the departing class, "Don't forget your two-thousand word essay on why you should worship Pariah Dark. It's due in two weeks. Do it, or else!" The teacher grinned evilly, caressing his spectral sword in his hand.

'Great,' Danny thought, 'one more thing I have to do today. I was supposed to start learning to control my going through stuff.'

As he thought that, his foot sank through t he tiles and got stuck in the floor, receiving laughter from those around. "Bumbling Fenton! This is why you're weak and puny, you impotent halfa!" the teacher mocked.

'I've got to learn to control this soon. Let's see, how can I stop myself from going through stuff? By being the opposite of intangible I guess, by being tangible, solid.'

Pulling his leg out, Danny thought, 'Maybe if I just think 'solid', I'll stay tangible.'

As he walked down the hall, he fought many moments of intangibility by thinking 'solid.' When he got to the stairs however, he was distracted by his favorite cheerleader walking grinned, greeting Paulina. He lost his focus on fighting intangibility, falling through the stairs.

"Ow," he groaned, landing on his back, "I can't forget to stay solid! I'm going to need a lot more practice."


	5. Potential

Thanks go to Kiomori and Luiz4200 for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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Potential

Two weeks later:

The skeleton in charge of Mr. Lancer's former classes had ghastly news for his king. "Your Majesty, the boy is learning, like we never thought he could without a teacher," he reported. "He no longer hits objects with ectoblasts, and last week, his intangibility powers never showed. Perhaps now he is more of a threat to your glorious reign. Shall I slay him for you?"

"Are you sure about this? Perhaps the boy is just losing his powers. After all, he _is_ part human." butted-in a blue vampire-like ghost floating off to the side.

Pariah Dark frowned. "Remind me why I keep you around, Plasmius. You are constantly trying to dismiss threats to my reign. You were, yourself, the last human to get ghost powers. You became more powerful than the average ghost. You should not underestimate the boy."

"Ah yes, sire, but I was under the impression I was the only human to keep their ghost powers for more than a few months," Plasmius rebutted. "I'm certain Daniel is losing his powers."

"But if you're wrong, you will not be the only human with ghost powers, and I will have gained a powerful enemy. Besides, his powers make him clumsy. If he loses them, he may become a ghost hunter like his parents, and do well as a ghost hunter. I'm not willing to take the risk. His parents are able to challenge us already, if they were to keep the weapons they made, we don't need him to be able to challenge us as well." The king, done with growling at Vlad called, "Fright Knight!"

The knight came. Bowing to his king, he asked, "Yes, Your Highness?"

"I want you to fetch the young ghost boy, Daniel, and bring him to me. But do it only after you've exterminated Plasmius."

Vlad gulped. "Exterminate me?" he asked. "But I'm your faithful bodyguard, am I not?"

"You have dismissed threats one too many times, Plasmius. You have allowed ghost hunters, the Fentons, their lives, and are doing the same for their young son. He has much potential in his powers, and he's learning to use them, like _you_ said he wouldn't. You have committed the treasonous act of sparing my enemies lives."

"But don't you see?" Vlad asked. "You are unmarried, and have no heir. I was merely thinking if the boy and his family could be won over, they could be an asset to you. If the boy keeps his powers, then when the time comes, not before your time, of course, but when the time comes to give up the throne, you would have your heir!"

"I doubt you thought that way, Plasmius. You said the boy would lose his powers!"

"Plasmius is too soft on the Fentons, Most Noble One," the Fright Knight accused. "His desire to have Jack Fenton's wife for his own is no secret."

"Get this traitor out of my court!" Dark roared. "Kill the Fentons, and bring their boy here, alive!"

The Fright Knight complied, declaring, "At once, Your Kingship!"

Plasmius and the Fright Knight gone, Pariah turned to the teacher from his army. He hissed, "Who let Fenton learn to use his powers?"

The king's way of saying whom he thought responsible was effective. The skeleton dropped on his knees. "Have mercy!" he begged.

"You must be punished!"

* * *

"What's all this?" Danny asked, looking at the lab. It had been cleaned, yellowgreen steamers hung on the walls, tables with snacks were at the back of the room, and his friends stood in the middle of the room, waiting for him.

"Congratulations, Danny!" said Jack.

"Congratulations on mastering your ectoblasts and your intangibility!" Maddie said. "You've been working hard on your powers, and you need a break."

"We decided to throw you a party," said Jack.

"Just don't get too loud; we don't want the skeletons in here investigating the noise," Maddie warned. "Go have fun!"

"Thanks," said Danny.

Running down to his party, Danny shouted, "Hey Sam! Hey Tucker! I missed you guys!"


	6. Skeletons

Skeletons

Disclaimer: I couldn't possibly own Danny Phantom, because I've never had a job writing such a cool show for television!

**Thanks go to Luiz4200 for reviewing. Yeah, I guess he was too loud. :)**

**Merry Christmas everybody!**

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Danny couldn't resist but show off at his party. He was excellent at hitting balloons with his ectoblasts, and walked right through his friends to get to the refreshment table. He'd even flown in a few loops.

Doing the loops was an accident. He'd never worked on flying, he'd just gotten so much energy from the party, that he'd instinctively thrown himself backwards through the air and flipped over, resulting in two airborne loops.

"Wow! I didn't know you worked on flying, Danny m'boy. Do it again! C'mon, let's see you do it again!" shouted Jack excitedly.

Still hovering in the air, Danny said, "I didn't work on flying, Dad. It was an accident."

"It was really good for an accident," Maddie told him, impressed.

Danny smiled, "Yeah it was, wasn't it? I think I've almost got a hang of it."

At that moment, several skeletons phased into the Fenton Lab."Danny Fenton," the highest-ranking skeleton said, "you are under arrest."

Nervously, Danny asked, "For what?"

"The king's orders are that you are to be interrogated, and then beheaded. If you turn in whoever's been training you to use your powers, we might consider giving you a chance to say goodbye to your loved ones."

Another skeleton looked around, saw the decorations, and asked, "What's this, a little party? Is this party being held because of your training? I see what's going on, the people here must be the ones that trained you. I'm sure the king will want to see them."

The skeleton guards seized Danny, Jack, Maddie, Sam, and Tucker.

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As they approached Dark's castle, the skeleton holding Danny veered away from the others. "The king won't be seeing you until tomorrow," he explained. "You're going directly to your cell. Your torturer, I mean assistant interrogator, will fetch you tomorrow at dawn, and you will be executed at noon."

They flew into the dungeons. Dark's dungeons were crawling with mice and stank of their verminous odor. Little light could squeeze through the walls. Chains hung threatening on the walls, as if they were about to come to life and seize their victim.

"I know it's hard to see, but do you notice that there's no rust around here, ghost boy?" the skeleton asked. It was all Danny could do to nod his head, 'yes'.

"Do you know why there's no rust around here?"

Danny shook his head. "We keep things here well oiled, so that they can be used at any given moment. I don't want you getting the idea that we won't chain you to the wall if you make too much noise."

He laughed. "Feel free to scream. Some of that is permitted, we'll only come after you if you disturb the castle staff in their work."

The skeleton unlocked a cell. As hard as he could, he tossed Danny down on its filthy floor. He locked the cell, and laughed, "So much for working on your powers, huh Fenton?"

Danny pulled himself to his feet, and called, "Get back here! Can't I at least know what's going to happen to my Mom, Dad, and friends?"

He reached forward to rattle the cell door, but his hand went right through it. Danny looked at his hand for a moment, before realizing what just happened.

"That's right," he said softly, "humans go right through things in the Ghost Zone, and I'm human! I can get out of here and go look for my parents and Sam and Tucker."

Danny paused, wondering why he was put in a cell without a guard. No one was watching him, so it wasn't likely that anyone would notice if he left, until they came to fetch him. That was good. He'd have a bit of time to look for his friends and family before anyone would notice he was gone.

"The ghosts didn't think this through very well," Danny reflected. "Didn't they realize I could get out?"


	7. On the King's Honor

**Have a superb 2009 everybody! This story is winding down soon, and I'd like to thank all who have read it, all who are still reading it, all who liked it enough to add it to their alerts or favorites list, and all who have ever reviewed.**

**I'd like to thank the one who reviewed the last chapter: Luiz4200!**

Disclaimer: I tell only of the adventures Danny might have experience, if I actually owned the show. But I don't own the show, so the stories are here instead.

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On the King's Honor

Danny found his friends and family in the throne room, in deep trouble. Dark was mocking them. Dark was making threats to them, Danny, and the citizens of Amity Park. Apparently, they had been sentenced to burn at the stakes.

The room was almost overflowing with Dark's skeletons. With all the soldiers, the prisoners had no way to escape. Danny knew there was only one way to save them, and he needed a lot of courage to do it. He had to challenge the king.

Danny knew he had to do this eventually. He'd known ever since his parents started helping him control his powers. After all, his Dad expected that he would be able to challenge the king. His Dad expected him to become the greatest super hero. Danny just didn't expect the time to challenge the king would be so soon, only a few weeks after he started learning how to use his powers. But regardless of whether he was ready or not, it was time.

A little shakily, Danny stepped into the throne room, and ectoblasted the king. Everyone knew this was a challenge of the king's honor.

"Who dared to challenge me?" Pariah roared, and stood up. "I demand to see my opponent!"

Dark was enough to scare anyone, especially in his anger. Danny stuttered over his words as he admitted, "I- I did. I ch- challenged you."

Narrowing his eyes, Pariah hissed, "I thought you were supposed to be in your cell."

"Well, I'm n– not."

"Who is responsible for this? He fears me, yet he challenges me! Did you not understand that he must remain in the dungeons?"

None wanting to admit to letting Danny escape, the skeletons remained silent.

"My Lord, perhaps you should punish him who let the boy out of his cell later," the Fright Knight counseled.

The king frowned, not liking the suggestion.

The Fright Knight dropped his voice to almost a whisper as he continued advising the king. "Remember the unwritten law of the Ghost Zone," he said. "Any king who does not accept a challenge of the crown will lose his right to be a monarch, and his honor shall be lost forever. If he refuses, even his loyalist subjects must acknowledge the challenger as the new ruler."

"Perhaps you are right."

"I serve only you, My King," the Fright Knight replied, bowing.

The king growled at Danny, "Step forward, boy! I accept your challenge."

As he stepped forward, Jazz cried, "Danny, don't do this! If you fight the king, he'll kill you!"

"I have to Jazz," the young halfa claimed. "The king's going to kill us all anyway. I have to at least try."

"Clear the room!" Dark ordered. "I only want me, the boy, and the guarded prisoners to remain."

"But sir, why do you want the prisoners in here? They could escape!" one of the skeletons asked.

"The prisoners shall have to witness the halfling's defeat. The guards will make certain they don't escape."

Tears slid down the prisoners' cheeks, thinking that Danny would be killed. Worried about what they would see, they grouped together for mutual comfort.

"No!" Jazz bawled, "I can't watch." She turned her head and cried into her mother's shoulder.

The Ghost King declared, "Now, let the duel began!"


	8. Duel of the Ghosts

**Thanks for staying with my story. I'd like to thank Luiz4200 for being the awesome reviewer Luiz4200 is.**

**Just a tangent. You've heard of French Fries, French Toast, French dressing, and French doors that aren't really from France, right? According to my dad, 'French' used to mean 'fancy'. That means that the names should really be fancy potato fries, fancy toast, fancy dressing, and fancy doors.  
**

Diclaimer: Who in their right mind would let me own Danny Phantom? I don't have any experience making TV shows that awesome.

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Duel of the Ghosts

The king drew his sword, making a dramatic display with one smooth slow motion.

"Hey, not fair!" Tucker called. "You can't use a weapon against an unarmed opponent!"

The king laughed. "This isn't for the boy."

He slid his sword through the handles of the throne room's giant French doors. "This shall not be removed until one of us is defeated. Then the victor shall take the sword, and the crown."

"But you're still wearing the crown!"

"Am I, or am I not still king?" Pariah roared. "Now be silent!"

He turned on Danny, prepared for another battle in the history of his rule. He grabbed Danny, and dangled him upside down, so swiftly, that Danny could not have known about it until everything rushed to his head.

Danny yelped, and the king laughed. "So you thought you could defeat me? You should understand that I'm not going to allow you to do that."

"And I'm not going to allow you to hurt people anymore, especially not my family," Danny answered.

Going ghost, Danny hit Dark's thumb with an ectoblast. It had the desired effect; Dark dropped Danny.

"Good going, Danny!" hollered Jack. "Now get rid of the crown! The Crown of Rage makes the king ten times more powerful than he really is."

Danny fired an ectoblast at the crown, but the king moved.

"Keep the fool silent!" Pariah roared at the guards, pointing at Jack.

The king then approached Danny, forcing him back against a wooden box. Danny glanced behind him, only to see that the wood was shaped like a coffin. _'Please don't let this be for me,' _he thought, '_I don't really want to die.'_

"Sweetie, that's the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep," Maddie called. "If you could get the Ghost King in there, you'll win!"

"Keep ALL of them silent!" the king bellowed.

He swiped at Danny, but Danny ducked, and dived through the Ghost King's open legs. Before the ghost King could turn around, Danny shot the crown off his head.

"Why you little . . . " the king snarled as he bent over to pick up his crown. Danny took the king's moment of distraction to open the sarcophagus. The king recovered from his lost crown, and charged Danny, who was still standing in front of the sarcophagus.

Danny sidestepped, and let the king run into the sarcophagus. Quickly, he closed it, trapping Pariah Dark.

"I did it!" Danny said, a mixed look of surprise and relief sweeping over his face. "I did it!"

"Did he just defeat the king?" one of the guards asked the other.

"He did."

"But no one should ever have been able to defeat the Ghost King."

"From what I reckon, it was a fluke, but that still leaves that lad in charge of us."

"I never would have seen this coming."

The guards' talk brought Danny's focus back to the present. He called, "You can let them go now!"

The guards released Danny's family and friends. Before he knew it, Danny was the center of many heartfelt hugs, and congratulations.

"I knew you could defeat the Ghost King!" said Jack. "I'm so proud. My son is finally in control of his powers. He's finally a super hero!"

Danny grinned, saying modestly, "Yeah, thanks to you guys."

Suddenly, he flickered invisible. "Danny?" Jack asked. "Where'd you go?"

"Dad, I didn't go anywhere," he said, frowning.

"Danny, you're invisible," Sam told him.

Temporarily, Danny was glad he was invisible. This way, his friends wouldn't see him blushing. "I'll work on that," he promised.

"Come on, let's just get out of here," said Tucker, "it's too creepy for my taste."

"I rather like it," Sam mumbled, but she walked to the doors with the rest of the group.

Danny slid the sword out of the handles and his invisibility wore off. He walked through the doors triumphantly.

A collective gasp met him on the other side . . .


	9. Keep Learning, Phantom

**I'm sorry everybody, I thought I had the rest of this story posted so, late again!**

Disclaimer: My only intellectual property found in this fanfiction is well . . . nothing!

Review Reply:

Luiz4200: Laughs. Sorry, _next_ chapter is the epilogue, not this one! I hope you enjoy it all the same.

:)

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Keep Learning, Phantom

The king had been defeated - by a mere halfa boy with clumsy control over his powers at that.

The halfa had walked through the victory doors, with the traitorous humans along. The shock wave paralyzed the spectral audience.

Danny stumbled forward, and asked, "So, can we go now, or what?"

"Come on, let's get out of here. I've had more than enough dealing with ghosts for more than a lifetime. No offense." said Tucker.

Danny smiled, empathizing with the comment, "I know how you feel. By the way, " he added, surveying the area surrounding the castle, "I'm seeing the Ghost Zone, but no Amity Park. Any clue how to get home?"

Jack smiled. "Danny, look! There's the Fenton Ghost Portal! Maybe Amity is back in the Real World?"

"What do we do with them?" Sam asked, gesturing toward the befuddled skeletons, who were clueless as to what to do next. "We can't just leave them like that."

"Oh, right!" Danny exclaimed. "Hey, you skeletons! I don't care what you do as long as you leave humans alone. So, do whatever you like, as long as you keep your distance from the Human World. Got it?"

The skeletons stayed silent, but after a brief pause, some of them started to nod, showing their comprehension.

Danny didn't say another word to the skeletons. Instead, he smiled at those he'd been snatched from his home with. "Let's go, guys!" he said to his companions.

With that, he grabbed his companions, and flew off. New as flight was to him, it didn't seem natural when he was doing it purposely. But he had to admit, it did feel great to be flying home after defeating the oppressive king!

* * *

Back in Amity Park . . .

Things were running as they had since Pariah Dark took over. Children were in bed at the late hour, and adults were quietly murmuring about the government. A few skeletons roamed the streets, doing the work of the king's police force, and wishing that they weren't stuck on patrol duty.

The sky was the usual green dreariness of the Ghost Zone, the dreariness that never changed from night to day.

Nobody would've guessed that up in the Ghost King's castle, where most of the skeletons were, a clumsy young halfa would be facing off against Pariah Dark. Said halfa was about to lock Dark in the Sarcophagus of Forever sleep.

When the lid was being closed, deep ghostly magic was at work, moving Amity Park back into its own dimension. It was the same magic that had sucked the city into the Ghost Zone in the first place at work then.

The skeletons around the streets saw the sky change. In place of the Ghost Zone's eerie surroundings, a black starry sky appeared, promising the city that it was back on Earth, and that it would see the sun rise again.

They trembled, fearing their leader's fury. All of them knew better than to be the bearer of bad news. Worse, none of them could explain how Amity Park had escaped from the Ghost Zone, so they couldn't choose any particular skeleton to be the unfortunate messenger.

They slowly crept back to the Ghost Zone, with their tails between their legs. On their return to the Ghost Zone, they saw the young halfa and a group of his loved ones flying toward the Fenton Portal.

They heard a member of the departing group say, "Hey Danny, I don't think any of these skeletons heard you. They weren't at the castle, after all."

The boy frowned, processing that statement. "I think you're right, Tuck."

"Hey! You guys!" Danny shouted. "Your buddies at the castle," he gestured to the castle, "can tell you what's going on. Make sure they tell you to _leave humans alone!_"

They flew off, disappearing through the portal.

* * *

"Home! Finally! I couldn't have taken much more of the Ghost Zone." said Tucker. "I think we deserve some serious chill time after going through that. Don't you guys think so?"

Sounds of agreement from the teenagers filled the room, as cheered Tucker's remark.

"Yeah, that's right!" Danny cried.

"Absolutely!" Sam added.

Then, Jack gave a huge grin to his son. "Way to go Danny!" he exclaimed, "I am so proud!"

Maddie leaned over and gently embraced her son. "Both of us are, our little hero!"

Danny himself wore a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I am," he said.

Then he sighed. "But hero or not, I still feel like a freak."

"You're not a freak Danny!" Sam protested. "You're just unique, and you need to learn to accept yourself the way you are!"

Looking over at her half-ghost friend, she saw him shivering. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Danny told her. "I'm just a little cold."

"How can you be cold?" she demanded. "It's 75° (Fahrenheit) in here!"

"No clue," he replied, only to see ice starting to form around his arms, which he'd wrapped around himself in an attempt to conserve body heat.

"Ice?" he asked. "See, _this_ is what I was talking about. I AM STILL A FREAK!"

"And we still love you," Maddie said gently. "We're still going to help you with your powers. You know you can learn to control them. Sweetie, you just defeated the most powerful ghost Amity Park has ever seen with them. I know you can learn this ice power too."

"Thanks," he mumbled, "But if I hadn't activated the Ghost Portal, none of this would've ever happened in the first place."

"Dude! Stop being such a pessimist!" Tucker told him. "Let's forget about you being a freak and go back to the party we were having before the skeleton dudes crashed in on us! I said we needed to chill, and the party your folks set up seems like a pretty good way to do it!"

"Go on Danny, you can't say you haven't earned it!" Jack prodded.

Danny smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "But first, could I have a little help getting this ice off my arms? It's making them frozen solid!"

* * *

In a tower, in a portion of the Ghost Zone still unknown to Danny and his friends, Clockwork sighed.

"The skeletons will leave them alone. But there will be other ghosts. Some will be intrigued by the young halfa, and come to fight him. Others will come to take over his world."

The Master of Time was right. Even as he spake, the first of the 'other ghosts' he was referring to were learning about the boy Daniel's improvement. They were learning how he was now using his ghost powers better in a fight. They were more interested in defeating him then, than they where when they had last seen him.

Unfortunately for the teen, his improvement, and his defeat of the Ghost King, had made him more of a challenge. Being more of a challenge would encourage more ghosts to fight him. Even though a few ghosts would avoid fighting ghosts that are a challenge, there would be many more ambitious ghosts who would seek a fight with those challenging ghosts.

Luckily, Daniel's parents were still helping him practice control over his powers, letting him learn how to use the new as well as the ones he'd mastered. For example, after they learned of their son's ice powers, they started thinking about a way to help him learn how to use them.

They'd resumed the party before they did anything else, however, and the children had their first chance in months to act like children.

Currently, the Fentons were in their lab, with tubs of hot water. Danny was trying to turn the hot water into solid ice. His parents were egging him on, applauding with every success.

It was good that Danny was still learning how to use his powers. He'd need them in order to become the effective ghostly ghost hunter who would someday earn himself the nickname, 'the Phantom'.

Such a great future lay ahead of Danny Fenton, if time continued in the way Clockwork expected it to.

* * *

**That's all for this story, except for the epilogue. (It is in the same style I did the prologue in. I'm sorry, but, it's really short.)**


End file.
